Puma sales benefit little from World Cup

FRANKFURT, GERMANY: The world's third biggest sports equipment maker, Puma, on Thursday, 29 July 2010, posted a modest increase in quarterly sales despite the soccer World Cup in South Africa, sending its shares plunging.

Puma shares lost 4.92% in midday trade to mark the biggest loss on the MDax index of mid-cap companies, which was 0.35% lower overall.

Puma, which is majority owned by the French group PPR, said sales gained a mere 2.5 % in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, to €615.4 million ($800 million).

When foreign exchange effects were taken into account, sales actually declined by 4.8% overall, and by 11% in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, the company's figures showed.

Puma's German rival Adidas said last week that its second-quarter sales gained an impressive 19 percent meanwhile, thanks to the soccer World Cup.

Puma sponsored seven of the 32 world cup competitors, including four from Africa, but did not reap much benefit as operating profit edged up only slightly to €64.1 million (US$83 million) for the quarter.

Source: AFP